Book Suggestions

I'm almost done reading the 22nd, final volume of Squid Girl (or rather 「侵略！イカ娘」, since it's a Japanese copy). Still sad that there's no more . . . but at least the anime series got re-licensed for North American distribution, and we should actually get both seasons this time.

To my surprise, the American scientist (read: professional alien seeker who's convinced Squid Girl is an alien) in the story has to return to America before the final chapter. Her superiors order her return due to her continuing lack of confirmed alien findings. As a result, she's not in the final chapter, and the last we see of her is a brief farewell to Squid Girl as she trudges along the sidewalk with a suitcase. It looks like everyone else appears in the final chapter, though, so it's kind of sad. :(

Of course, I started from the beginning, i.e. "The Beast in the Cave" and "The Alchemist". Both were quite good.
Heck, "Beast" was actually kinda tense and scary. Until 15-year-old Howard decided to finish it with "[...] a MAN!!!". Yes, bold, all caps, three exclamation marks. At least in this collection: I can't find it in bold online. Anyway, this story also features the best triplet of words I've ever read in my entire life: "ejaculation of wonderment".

As for "Alchemist", it's not nearly as scary, mostly because more than half of it is exposition. Decent exposition, though.
Too bad I saw the """"plot twist"""" coming from a mile away. Heck, I assumed the protagonist already knew, but I guess not, because the story ends with, and I quote:

"I tell you, it is I! I! I! that have lived for six hundred years to maintain my revenge, FOR I AM CHARLES LE SORCIER!”

Lovecraft really likes caps. And italic.

"YOU FOOL, WARREN IS DEAD!"

E:
Oh, how could I forget "OH GOD, THAT HAND! THE WINDOW! THE WINDOW!"

When you get done with that, you should read the anthology, Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, which has a lot of other writers. There's one story in it, not by HPL, where the doomed protagonist is writing what is happening to him, and then apparently actually writes "ahhhhh" at the end.

Is it this one [IT'S A LINK]? Ew, no hardcover available.
There's also this one [IT'S A LINK] and this one [THIS ONE TOO].

There's one story in it, not by HPL, where the doomed protagonist is writing what is happening to him, and then apparently actually writes "ahhhhh" at the end.

Well, Lovecraft's "Dagon" begins with "I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain" and ends with, I repeat, "OH GOD, THAT HAND! THE WINDOW! THE WINDOW!".

Still better than almost every single first-person horror game released in the 2010's, where you can find notes scattered in any place imaginable on which gems such as "oh no I'm going to die" or "this place is really scary" or "the spooky ghost's name is [huge convenient bloodstain]" are written.Oh, look, an article about this. If you click on that sentence, it will lead you to it.

Yes, I want to turn this whole link affair into a forced meme. Just like "Main Character" before it.

Thanks. Might get it at some point.
Probably not when I finish this one, because it'd take me years, and those free €500 only last up until this December.

So, uh, apparently "Dagon" doesn't end that way. It's actually "Oh God, that hand! The window, the window!"
It's also not as good as how I remembered. It's not terrible, but it's worse than when I read it at my friend's 18th birthday.
The description of the "Cyclopean monolith" is pretty bad, as are the last ~20 lines, after the 'roar' of the fish dude.